Levi Shirley had a successful first trip to Europe representing his country and the ULTRA4 Class Off-Road organization he races.

Shirley had wanted to finish on the podium in the King of the Valleys competition in Wales, and he was able to accomplish the goal by finishing third in the overall standings.

"There is no better feeling than that all that hard work paying off," Shirley said. "We were racing people from across the globe. We never gave up and took pride in competing for our country.

"I felt I had third pretty much locked when I crossed the finish line. There were some who could have placed as high as me, but I would beat them on time. To finish third in my first international race is nothing to be down about."

Shirley placed behind Pier Acerni of Italy and Stephane Zosso of Switzerland in the final standings.

Shirley said the fans in Wales gave him support and were interested in getting his autograph and interested in his car.

Shirley may be back in Dodge City, but his car is still in the garage shop in Hailsham, England. He plans to go back there soon to start preparing for the King of Portugal event next month. His team will travel across the English Channel to Spain, then take the six-hour trip to the staging area in the Iberian Peninsula.

"Knowing what we know now from our first race, we will be that much more prepared to win it all," Shirley said. "There are a lot of people who have contributed to get us this far, and they will help us continue to get better."